Las Vegas Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Firearms and Dealing Cocaine

Las Vegas Man Sentenced to More Than 12 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing Firearms and Dealing Cocaine

LAS VEGAS, NV—A Las Vegas man well-known to local police because of his lengthy criminal history and street gang affiliations, was sentenced today to 155 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Ryan Walton, aka Ryan McLemore, 32, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon. Walton pleaded guilty on April 23, 2014, to three counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, and one count of use or possession of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense. Walton, who has been connected to the Las Vegas street gang known as the Gerson Park Kingsmen, has had four drug convictions, four firearm-related convictions, and three violent crime convictions in Clark County, Nev. since 2001.

“This case is an excellent example of how we are working together with our federal and local law enforcement partners and the District Attorney’s Office to identify dangerous and recidivist felons,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “Despite numerous, previous felony convictions, the defendant continued to endanger the community by possessing firearms in connection with violence and drug dealing. Thanks to our Project Safe Neighborhoods program partnerships and the Safe Streets Task Force, this defendant will no longer be a threat to our community.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea agreement, three of the counts of conviction resulted from an incident on Sept. 26, 2007, when Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) detectives executed a search warrant at his residence and found cocaine, drug paraphernalia, and a rifle. Two more counts of conviction resulted from incidents on Dec. 22 and Dec. 27, 2010, in which LVMPD detectives and Nevada Division of Parole and Probation Officers executed a search of the vehicle Walton drove, and found two semi-automatic handguns and several loaded extended ammunition magazines, body armor, cocaine, marijuana, and drug distribution paraphernalia. The last count of conviction resulted from an incident on Aug. 8, 2012, when North Las Vegas Police Department Officers made contact with Walton as he was driving with a suspended license, and found two semi-automatic handguns in the vehicle, both of which had been reported as stolen.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the North Las Vegas Police Department, as part of the Safe Streets Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods program. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina D. Silva.